Against Europe’s Two-Pack: an Italian appeal

This legislation represents another serious loss of national sovereignty, of the power of parliaments and an attack on democracy in each country with respect to what has always been considered a fundamental law of a state – the budget law. A decision by EU leaders is imminent.

On 12 March the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg voted by a majority to back the Two-Pack, the two regulations which, after further stages of approval, will automatically take effect and be binding on Eurozone countries.

In essence, the two regulations give permanent powers to the European Commission over the budgets of individual countries in order to assess, in advance, their conformity with prior economic policies adopted in Brussels. The individual states are thus obliged to submit bills to send and stability in the European Union by October 15 of each year to get the go-ahead. If any discrepancies are found, the member countries are required to modify their draft budget laws as recommended by the European Commission.

We are facing another serious loss of national sovereignty, of the power of parliaments and an attack on democracy in each country with respect to what has always been considered a fundamental law of a state, that is, the budget law.

The European Commission, an unelected body, will evaluate budgets and have the power to order changes.

Following the approval of the Fiscal Compact, we are facing another turn of the screw in the system of European governance, which is increasingly undemocratic and distant from the needs of citizens.

At the next meeting of the Ecofin Council, which may be imminent, and take place before the already scheduled meeting of May 14, the ‘two-pack’ could finally be ratified without further discussion, unless this is explicitly requested by one of the EU member states.

For these reasons, we appeal to [Italian] MPs and political forces, to immediately initiate a debate in the Parliament to decide on the attitude that the new government will take within the EU on this issue that stifles further the powers of democratic and elected institutions in budgetary matters.

We demand that the government that will be formed raise the issue in the next Ecofin meeting (or any other Council fora called to ratify the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the two regulations) and expresses an opinion contrary to the two-pack.